Bracket and shelf supports



' Jan. 18, 1966 c. w. HOBSON 3,229,648

BRACKET AND SHELF SUPPORTS Filed Aug. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E\ Lfi= Inventor C, W Hobson a Jan. 18, 1966 c. w. HOBSON 3,229,648

BRACKET AND SHELF SUPPORTS Filed Aug. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvenlor C. w l-lobson United States Patent 3,229,648 BRACKET AND SHELF SUPPORTS Charles William Hobson, Tangier, Morocco, assignor to Nancy Hobson, Tangier, Morocco Filed Aug. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 129,139 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 8, 1960, 27,453/60 3 Claims. (Cl. 108144) The present invention relates to arrangements for use in supporting brackets, shelves, stands, tables and so on and constitutes a continuation-in-part to my co-pending application No. 745,747, filed June 30, 1958 for Bracket and Shelf Supports, now Patent No. 3,039,622.

According to the parent application, there is provided an arrangement for use in supporting a bracket, shelf or the like, wherein a support member adapted to carry the brack et, shelf or the like, is removably attached to a substantially upright mounting member, the support member and the mounting member being respectively provided with interengaging members so that the bracket, shelf or the like may be supported at different heights on the mounting member, in which the mounting member includes two internal faces at a substantial angle each to the other, thus constituting a corner member, the support member having two external faces respectively at an angle that corresponds to the angle between the faces of the corner member, said faces of the corner member and of the support member being respectively provided with interfitting projection means and engagement means, one of said means sloping downwardly and inwardly so that the support member is engageable with the corner member so as to wedge the support member in position in the mounting member.

The expression shelf or the like is intended to define any fiat shelf-like member including a top for a table where appropriate and may also include a framework adapted to support a separate member of sheet material, e.g., wood, metal, plastic or glass.

Preferably, the engagement means comprises an edge or face formed in or on the associated part, and said edge or face may be the edge or face of a slot or channel.

Where a shelf or the like is to be supported, four corner members may be provided, one for each corner of said shelf or the like, the latter having four support members, one at each corner thereof. A shelf could alternatively be supported on one or two members if desired.

By substantial angle is meant an angle between 45 and 135 although the angle would generally be substantially 90.

The projection means referred to may be on the internal surfaces of the corner member and the engagement means be provided on the external face of the support member or, alternatively, the projection means may be on the support member and the engagement means be on the corner member.

The support members may be integral with the shelf or bracket or may be separate therefrom.

The corner members may comprise lengths of angle material or two separate strip members located at a substantial angle each to the other or, alternatively, the corner members may, in fact, be represented by corners of an existing article, such as a show case, cabinet or the like, the studs or other projections being secured in or on the surface thereof at the corners. The angle material may be free-standing or secured to another support, for example a recessed dowel or rod of any desired cross-section. Separate strip members may be secured together at various places along their length, or they may be secured to other supports similarly to the angle material. The angle or strip material may be extruded or otherwise formed to include channels at its longitudinal edges to receive panels or the like.

A plurality of pairs of studs or other projections or engaging means, as the case may be, may be arranged vertically, one above the other, in or on each of the comer members whereby brackets or shelves may be located at any one of a number of vertical positions.

Where bracket members are supported they may be of suflicient length to project from the corner members and to be used individually to display articles, in which case the corner members also may be used individually or in groups. The bracket members themselves may be single or multiple whereby a single bracket or a number of integrally-formed brackets may project from the corner member, and if desired the brackets may be adapted to carry shelving, for which purpose they may have any desired profile.

Although the angle between the surfaces of the corner member will generally be substantially I have found that this angle may be less than 90 and may be extended up to about if desired. Where the angle between the inner faces of the corner member is less than 90 this may be obtained by making the outer longitudinal edges of the two faces thicker than the material at the mutually abutting corner edge. Conveniently corner members of this kind may be of extruded metal or plastic. Other corner members may also be extruded or formed in any other manner and from any material found suitable.

According to another feature of the invention, bracing members are used between the corner members for building up a rectangular or other shaped supporting framework and may be profiled to provide ledges to support shelves, and conveniently these bracing members may fit behind channels formed by cutting away part of the rear face of the support member, the said bracing members thus being accommodated between the corner members and the supporting members which may be in the form of corner blocks. The depth of such channels would be about the same as or very slightly more than the width of the bracing members and if desired the channel need not extend right into the corner but may form a kind of recess into which a part of the bracing member fits.

The bracing members may be flat strips but are preferably of L, T or other profiled section for strengthening purposes and may be supplied in long lengths so that the user may cut off any desired length to suit his requirements, from stock. The corner members may similarly be supplied in long lengths and conveniently such lengths of both kinds of stock material may be marked off at predetermined intervals, say 2" intervals, as a cutting guide for the user.

According to the present invention improvements in such .an arrangement are provided for facilitating manufacture of the parts and for increasing its aesthetic appeal.

Thus the present invention may provide an improvement in or modification of the arrangement according to my co-pending application, in which the corner member is provided With a series of punched-up projections each forming a one-sided bulge, and the support memher is provided with slots inclined inwardly and downwardly which are engageable over said projections.

Other improvements or modifications may also be provided as will be apparent from the description which is to follow.

The projections may take any desired form, and where this generic term is used in this specification, it may apply to any such form as occasion requires, or as the context demands or admits. For example, a projection may be a rib, a rivet or rivet-like member; where ribs are applicable they should be at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the member to correspond to the angle of the engagement means such as a slot channel or the like, of the other member, to obtain the wedging action referred to herein. Other examples of projections are lugs, tongues or studs, to name but a few. Moreover, such projections need not be a single entities; they may be compounded from two or more parts. For example, a disc-like head may be welded to a ing toform a composite projection.

Furthermore, the projections on one of the counterpart members, when such member is made from a malleable material such as metal, are formed by pressing out lugs or tongues, the plane of each of which is made to lie at an angle to the plane of the surface from which it is pressed, and the line of join or face of each lug or tongue to said surface being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the member at an angle corresponding to the angle of the channel or slot, so as toprovide the wedging action.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show these improvements or modifications and in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a modified corner member and bracket,

FIGURE 2 shows a section through FIGURE 1 along the line B-B,

FIGURE 3 shows a section along CC of FIGURE 1 to a larger scale,

FIGURE 4 shows a modification of the arrangement of FIGURE 1, in a view corresponding to that of FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE shows an arrangement where the projections take the form of tongues behind which the engagement means engage.

FIGURES 1 to 4 show a corner member and bracket assembly in which the corner member 101 is provided with a series of punched-up projections 102 which may be formed by punching, pressing or moulding the metal or other material so as to form a one-sided bulge, that is to say, a bulge which has one side or edge lifted above the face of the parent material, whilst the opposing side or edge of the bulge remains substantially or exactly at the level of the parent metal or other material. In the example shown, the material is metal which is pressed by suitable dies along a line shown dotted at 103, this line being downwardly and inwardly inclined towards the corner 104 of the corner member so that the material is punched outwardly to form a slight bulge in the inside .of the corner member as shown. If desired, however, the punch need not'actually rupture the material.

The bracket member 105 has a support member 106 which is provided with slots 107 and 108 in the faces 109 and 110 respectively, the direction of the slots each being along a.line downwardly and inwardly inclined to the corner 111 of the support member. Upon engagement of the bracket and support member in the corner member, the inner edges of the slots 107 and 108 respectively engage the lifted parts of the projections 102.

A plurality of pairs of projections 102 is provided along the height of the corner member whereby the bracket may be selectively engaged at a desired height.

If. desired, the slots 107 and 108 may each embrace or engage two or more of the projections 102.

A cross-sectional view on the line B-B of FIGURE 1 is shown at FIGURE 2, from which it can be seen how theparts are secured in position. FIGURE 3 is 'a fragment along the line CC of FIGURE 1, and to a larger scale, wherefrom the formation of the projections 102 can more easily be seen. The major part of the projection 102 is flat at 102a. The lift of the projection may be higher than that shown.

If desired, the projections 102 may be given a plurality of humps or lifts instead of the single one illustrated. inJFIGURES 1, 2 and 3, as shown in FIGURE 4 4, which is a view otherwise corresponding to the view of FIGURE 3: FIGURE 4 shows two hump-s or lifts 102b, 1020, but of course three or more may be provided if desired.

Thus, in this example of the invention, the projections and engaging means are formed respectively by punching and slotting the material, both being operations which may be easily and effectively accomplished as a simple manufacturing process and yet the bracket and corner member are securely held in interfitting relationship. If desired, the edge of the slots and edge of the projections may be inwardly slightly bevelled in the one case .and outwardly slightly bevelled in the other cast to assist in the retention of the parts.

Whilst FIGURES 1 to 4 show an arrangement in which the projections are provided on the corner member, and slots on the supporting member, yet clearly the reverse arrangement could be effected.

FIGURE 5 shows another embodiment of a corner member in which the bracket is supported inside the corner formed by the two faces of the member. In this embodiment the corner member is shown at 152 and is provided with a series of projections 153 which are in the form of tongues cut and punched-up or lifted away from the material of the corner member. A bracket 154 has engaging edges 155 thereon which are adapted to engage behind the tongues 153 as shown in the drawing, but ,again the edges of the engagement means 155 taper and the base lines 155 of the tongues 153 also are inclined downwardly and inwardly towards the apex of the corner member so as to produce the wedging action referred to above. The corner member may be secured to a base 151. It will be apparent that several brackets 154 may be provided to be engaged one above the other on the corner member.

It will be understood that the various designs of projection and engaging means shown herein are to a large extent interchangeable, it being only necessary to suit v the sizes of the respective projections and engaging means each to the other.

I claim:

1. In a storage or display device, a load-carrying bracket and shelf support, comprising a corner member having two surfaces rigidly secured together at a substantial angle each to the other, a series of punched-up projections one above the other on each of said surfaces and sloping downwardly and inwardly towards the corner of said corner member, and a support member having two faces meeting at an apex and at the same angle as that of the surfaces of said corner member, said faces each having an inwardly and downwardly inclined edge thereon, said edges being engageable selectively behind a pair of said projections at the same height, the downward and inward inclination of said surfaces and said edges acting to draw said support member into said corner upon the application of pressure on said support member from above, to lock said support member in said corner. 2. In a storage or display device, a load-carrying bracket and shelf support, comprising a corner member having two surfaces rigidly secured together at a substantial angle each to the other, a series of punch-up projections one above the other on each of said surfaces in opposed pairs and each forming a bulge that has an edge at one side of said bulge which slopes downwardly and inwardly towards the corner of said corner member, and a support member having two surfaces each having an inwardly and downwardly inclined slot therein to form a slot pair for engagement selectively with one of said pairs of bulges by the edges thereof to lock said support member in said corner by the application of pressure on said support member from above.

3. In a storage or display device, a'load-carrying bracket and shelf support, comprising a corner member having two surfaces rigidly secured together in a substantial angle each to the other, a series of punched-up tongues, one above the other in said surfaces and forming opposed pairs of projections lifted away from said surfaces, said tongues sloping downwardly and inwardly towards the corner of said corner member, and a support member having two faces each with an inwardly and downwardly inclined edge, for engagement selectively underneath one pair of said punched-out tongues to lock said opposed member in said corner by the application of pressure on said support member from above.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 406,156 7/1889 Weir 2092 687,250 11/1901 Monfort 5296 X 728,688 5/ 1903 Dyarman 217-69 764,487 7/1904 Morrison 2092.5 909,561 1/1909 Dolcater 2092.6 1,595,643 8/1926 Clark 248222 1,632,032 6/1927 McArdle 21186 1,638,173 8/ 1927 Spaulding 211134 1,799,944 4/ 1931 Beardsley 248222 1,952,093 3/ 1934 Richardson 5294 1,962,396 6/1934 Katz 108152 Foster 189-36 Tarbell 260537 Yurkovitch 211177 X Bales l08153 Erickson 10896 Marsh 20-92.5 Molla 108-111 Waltz 211-86 Bales 108114 Catalano 211-148 X Heselov 24843 Skar 248243 Park 211--134 Hobson 108144 France. Great Britain. Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. ROBERT C. RIORDON, Examiner. 

1. IN A STORAGE OR DISPLAY DEVICE, A LOAD-CARRYING BRACKET AND SHELF SUPPORT, COMPRISING A CORNER MEMBER HAVING TWO SURFACES RIGIDLY SECURED TOGETHER AT A SUBSTANTIAL ANGLE EACH TO THE OTHER, A SERIES OF PUNCHED-UP PROJECTIONS ONE ABOVE THE OTHER ON EACH OF SAID SURFACES AND SLOPING DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY TOWARDS THE CORNER OF SAID CORNER MEMBER, AND A SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING TWO FACES MEETING AT AN INDEX AND AT THE SAME ANGLE AS THAT OF THE SURFACES OF SAID CORNER MEMBER, SAID FACES EACH HAVING AN INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY INCLINED EDGE 